Wisconsin Newspapers Slam "Absentee Governor" Scott Walker

“When he was running for re-election last year, he told a group of Journal Sentinel opinion writers and reporters that he really wanted to be Wisconsin’s governor, and that he would act as such in his second term. He would actually govern. I don’t think he’s doing that; and that’s certainly the perception of many in the public, who think he’s running for president full-time. Maybe he’s working behind the scenes, but if he is, it’s so far back that no one knows he’s there.

“This is not good governing or good government. Scott Walker, please come home.”

“Pssst, Governor Walker, the home fires need a little tending.

“While we know that being a not-yet-formally-announced candidate for president is a taxing job that requires a lot of travel, there is still the matter of doing the job that you already have.

“And that’s being governor of the state of Wisconsin.”

The Journal Times also noted that municipalities, school districts, and state agencies are relying on the state to pass a budget so they can make their own budget plans — and that the work needed to get the budget done can’t be done by an “absentee governor.”

“Wisconsinites expect to get what they pay for and we are paying Scott Walker to serve as governor for the next four years, not campaign for president on the taxpayers’ dime,” Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Martha Laning said Wednesday. “Scott Walker needs to get back to work and fix the financial mess Wisconsin is facing due to the poor decisions he and his fellow Republicans have made.”